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mom with 4 yr old to move to nairobi

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mom with 4 yr old to move to nairobi Empty mom with 4 yr old to move to nairobi

Post  JanadV Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:02 pm

Habari?! What a pleasant surprise to find this up to date forum. Found lots of sites last updated in 2008..... We might have the opportunity to move to Nairobi soon. I have tons of questions Laughing . Quite a few already answered by your site. We speak Afrikaans and English. I would like to know which areas would be best to live in, my husband will work in Capitol Hill, do we have to live in a compound? Would my husband be able to mountain bike and cycle safely? What metric system do you use? Is it safe for me to drive around with my son?

What schools would you recommend for him. I believe I will meet other moms at school but are there other moms groups recommended, I know I will miss having a glass of wine with my friends while the kids are playing tons Sad Is it easy to travel over weekends? Can I bring my cats and dogs? cat. We love living in South Africa, is Nairobi considered safe? (We live in Johannesburg, I walk my son and dogs every day, play in the parks and we go out for luch and dinner regularly, I have never felt unsafe and would not like to give up the freedom of moving around town by myself) Would I be able to start a small business to keep myself busy? I believe that medical services are great over there?

Lastly monthly living costs, Is there a site for these?

Well I guess that is a good start

Ahsante Sana & Nakutakia siku njema!

JanadV

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Join date : 2012-06-12

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Post  Admin Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:43 am

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch! I can see that you are worried about your move - but I honestly don't think that you need to be! You will find that there is a really strong South African community here already. I have a few friends from Jo'burg myself - they think that security wise, Nairobi is a walk in the park as compared with Jo'burg security wise. How about approaching SAWA (south african women's association)- not sure if they have a website? There are also Facebook groups that you could join - try: Nairobi Expat Social (NES) and Yes we Kenya.

Where to live is a tricky one. I guess your husband will be working in the Upper Hill area. To be honest, the traffic is pretty bad around there from whichever neighbourhood you are coming from. It's something that everyone puts up with by various strategies - finding rat run routes - timing driving into the office at different hours to beat traffic. I have been doing freelance work at an office in the same area and found that people there were coming from Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Lavington, Westlands (nearer the office in terms of distance) - to further afield - Muthaiga, Runda (around the UN hq), north of the CBD to even Karen/Langata which is South of the city. Sorry, this doesn't seem to be much help! What might help is the knowledge that there are very good private primary schools and shopping centres in each residential neighbourhood - so we are a bit spoiled for choice.

Re compound living - there are loads of new town house complexes being built everywhere - all with spacious, modern kitchens and bathroom fittings, on quarter/half acre gardens - good security, possibly a shared pool/clubhouse/gym. There are tons of apartments too (mainly in the areas nearer to your husband's office - westlands, upper hill, kilimani, lavington). However, you still can find stand alone properties if you are happy live further out in muthaiga, runda, kitisuru or langata, karen - just remember that you'll need to budget for the extra running costs (many of which are often included in apartments/complexes) - such as gardener, night security guard (mainly sourced from a guard company) etc.

Re Pets
You can definitely bring your cats and dogs. Ask your freight forwarder about this. There is a requirement for an up to date immunization and health certificate for your pet, then you need to get an import permit form the offices of the Director of Veterinary Services here in Nairobi. Papers are checked by the veterinary officer at the airport on arrival.

Working
Yes, you can start your own business, but you will need to organise a work permit first. To be self employed, you would need an H permit - which can cost up to 300,000 shillings for a 2 year permit once you are finished with the process. This is arranged through immigration. There may be someone in your husband's new office who can point you in the direction of a lawyer or agent who can help you apply. There are loads of mums selling local crafts and imported goods at bi-annual fairs - the main ones are called Socco Socco, Bargain Box, The Christmas Craft Fair, Bizarre Bazaar.

Medical
Medical services are great. The main private hospitals are Aga Khan (parklands and Nairobi Hospital (upper hill) (main hospital and 3 fully equipped satellite hospitals around town), Karen Hospital, Gertrude's Garden Children's hospital (muthaiga) (also has satellite clinics for outpatient care with GPs on rotation from the main hospital. There's one on Othaya road - Lavington).

The medical services are pricey. Many expats might cover their own smaller costs but retain health insurance in case they want to be repatriated for extensive treatment.

Mountain Bike - Cycling
There are biking clubs - you see quite a few road and mountain bikers around but it is dangerous on the roads due to erratic driving practises here. Try joining the Mountain Club of Kenya: http://www.mck.or.ke/ and asking there about off road biking. There are places to go off road biking in town, such as Karua Forest, Paradise Lost, Hells Gate (Naivasha), Primate Centre etc.

Walking/Parks
You can walk around with your son. Once you have established where you are living, you will find walks around that area -though parks in the SouthAfrica/US/Europe sense are not really the same. There are not so many parks that will allow dogs to be honest (though there are great walks that you can do in groups - such as driving up to the Ngong Hills etc).

Travel
It's easy to travel on weekends. Nairobi is central and there are loads of great places to visit within 2 hours of the city. Lots of self catering houses to book (see Langatalink - website is: holiday homes Kenya listings) Obviously Kenya is home of the safari business - and the beaches at the coast are world class.

Metric system
kilos, metres

Driving
driving on the left hand side. Many people hire a driver for their first few months here - as they learn their way around and the ways of the road (slightly crazy!). Having said that, I arrived with 2 small children and drove myself from day 1 - Nairobi A-Z in hand (available from local bookshops) - and coped fine. It's perfectly safe to drive with your son.

Restaurants
Most shopping centres have plenty of restaurants and food courts. In fact - Nairobi has a fab range of places to eat-out (though I know that Jo'burg would be a tough act to follow on this score!) - from garden restaurants for lunch - to smart hotel based restaurants - Japanese, Ethiopian, Italian to KFC and burgers - whatever you fancy.

Phew! hope I've answered most of your questions - I would strongly recommend a 'look see' visit if at all possible - just to give you a feeling of neighbourhoods, schools, shops etc - plus look at a few houses and get a feel for monthly living costs.


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Post  Admin Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:45 am

Also look at: http://www.internations.org/nairobi-expats - this might help!

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Post  JanadV Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:16 pm

thankyou, Very Happy

JanadV

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Post  Admin Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:32 am

This sounds crazy - but I's just heard that I am going to Jo'burg for a business trip in the next week or so. I'm editing a corporate jo'burg relocation guide - any help and advice that you might have would be really, really useful. Perhaps we could meet up at some stage while I am there to swap info?!

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Post  JanadV Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:09 pm

Of course Ill help, mail me and ill send you my contact no, im flexible during the day and am in the property industry so sure ill be able to help you Smile Jana

JanadV

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Post  jmera Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:11 am

Hi there,

we just moved to Nairobi from Johannesburg and I just wanted to let you know if you take your pets with.
Global paws was really awesome working with. www.globalpaws.co.za. We took our 3 dogs and 2 cats with.
Can't help with all the other topics as im also still trying to find out!

Luv Jen

jmera

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Join date : 2012-01-25
Age : 40
Location : Johannesburg

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mom with 4 yr old to move to nairobi Empty 4.0 inch 5S Android 2.3 3G Smartphone Dual SIM WCDMA+GSM Wifi GPS Analog TV

Post  Armstronger Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:58 am

As well as the ViewPhone 4S, Viewsonic has just announced the ViewPhone 5e,4.0 inch 5s android handset with dual-SIM capabilities. The 5-inch display only has an 800x480 WVGA resolution, which means it won't win any prizes for pixel density, but Viewsonic promises that it delivers vivid and high-quality images. The handset also has space for two SIM cards, so it seems likely to be marketed to developing countries where having access to multiple networks can be a necessity. Sadly there aren't too many more details on the hardware just yet, with no word on the processor, RAM, or storage.

Armstronger

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